Fewer than 10% of patients that would benefit from GLP-1 drugs including Wegovy can access them, warns the WHO as it publishes its inaugural recommendations on the therapies.
Considering in excess of 1,000,000,000 people worldwide currently obese, it is urging more widespread and fairer access to GLP-1 medication.
Based on projections, over two billion could be obese by 2030 if no action is taken.
"The new guidelines acknowledges that excess weight is a long-term condition that can be managed with comprehensive and ongoing care," said the agency's head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Substantial prices, insufficient output, and logistical bottlenecks are major obstacles to universal availability to the injections that can help people shift considerable body mass, notes the body.
Skinny Jab Supply Crisis
Despite the present most favorable outlook, the production of GLP-1 therapies might only reach about 100 million people – less than 10% of the global need, according to the WHO.
The recommendation calls on nations and manufacturers to expand availability, by strategies including voluntary licensing.
A patent on semaglutide – the primary ingredient of the drug Wegovy – is set to lapse in a number of nations in 2026.
How Obesity Drugs Work
The injections imitate a body's own hormone to slow digestion, suppress the appetite and increase feelings of fullness so individuals reduce food intake.
Patients typically begin shedding pounds within a few weeks of starting on the regular doses.
Evidence points to patients may see weight return after a year of halting the treatment, because their typical hunger come back.
Being carrying excess weight elevates your chance for experiencing diseases, like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, brain attack, and certain cancers.
Obesity impacts individuals in every country and was linked to 3.7 million fatalities worldwide in 2024, according to the WHO.
